Ted Cruz: The Distinguished Wacko Bird from Texas  —  In less than a year, Texas Republican Ted Cruz has become the most despised man in the U.S. Senate.  He's been likened to Joe McCarthy, accused of behaving like a schoolyard bully, and smeared by senior members of his own party.

Scandal at Clinton Inc.  —  How Doug Band drove a wedge through a political dynasty  —  One Thursday evening last September, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Tony Blair met in New York to conduct what was supposed to be a high-minded discourse on terrorism, geopolitics, and the global economy.

Nairobi mall attack strikes against all of us: Column  —  As on 9/11, terrorists are waging a war on our modern, democratic way of life.  Today, we are all Kenyans.  —  CONNECT  —  It's the post-9/11 nightmare that Americans have been half expecting: al-Qaeda gunmen attack a shopping mall …

Why Barack Obama looks so exhausted  —  Barack Obama looks exhausted these days.  He looks about as tired, in other words, as the nation feels.  —  He knows this.  At a speech Saturday, he said that people are always telling him to “hang in there.”  —  “Don't worry about me!”  Obama said.

Free to Be Hungry  —  The word “freedom” looms large in modern conservative rhetoric.  Lobbying groups are given names like FreedomWorks; health reform is denounced not just for its cost but as an assault on, yes, freedom.  Oh, and remember when we were supposed to refer to pommes frites as “freedom fries”?

Angela Merkel wins historic third term in German elections  —  Angela Merkel vowed that she would deliver more “successful years for Germany” as exit polls indicated a commanding lead for her party over the main opposition.  —  Angela Merkel is heading for a third term as Germany's chancellor …

Chaos Computer Club breaks Apple TouchID  —  The biometrics hacking team of the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) has successfully bypassed the biometric security of Apple's TouchID using easy everyday means.  A fingerprint of the phone user, photographed from a glass surface, was enough to create …

SHUTDOWN COUNTDOWN: 10 days — ALAN GREENSPAN WARNS: ‘no viable long-term solution to our badly warped economy’ without fixing political system — WHITE HOUSE SIGNALS Janet Yellen nomination coming  —  FIRST LOOK - ALAN GREENSPAN, Fed chairman from 1987 to 2006, in a book out Oct. 22 from The Penguin Press …

Tempers flare inside GOP as Obamacare defunding fight escalates  —  BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL CONGRESS OBAMACARE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REPUBLICAN PARTY JOHN BOEHNER MITCH MCCONNELL HEALTH CARE TED CRUZ MIKE LEE  —  On March 13 of this year, Sen. Ted Cruz and 20 Republican co-sponsors offered …

Atheism starts its megachurch: Is it a religion now?  —  The non-religious Assembly is perhaps the fastest growing church in the world — and it's coming to a mall near you  —  Organized Atheism is now a franchise.  —  Yesterday, The Sunday Assembly—the London-based “Atheist Church” …

Supreme Court may strike new blow to campaign funding laws  —  The Supreme Court, in a new campaign funding case, may lift a lid on the total the wealthy can give to all candidates and parties.  —  The U.S. Supreme Court may lift the lid on the total amount the wealthy can give directly to all candidates and political parties.

Sean Eldridge Launches Congressional Campaign During The Emmys  —  A candidate for New York's 19th congressional district, Eldridge worked for Freedom to Marry and is married to Chris Hughes, Facebook co-founder and owner of The New Republic .  Eldridge's marriage equality work and his marriage …